S.B. No. 904

AN ACT

relating to requiring trauma training for certain attorneys.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 107.004, Family Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b-1) and adding Subsections (b-2), (b-3), and (b-4) to read as follows:

(b-1) An attorney who is on the list maintained by the court as being qualified for appointment as an attorney ad litem for a child in a child protection case must:

(1) complete at least three hours of continuing legal education relating to the representation of a child in a proceeding under Subtitle E each year before the anniversary date of the attorney's listing; and

(2) provide proof that the attorney has completed a training program regarding trauma-informed care and the effect of trauma on children in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services.

(b-2) The training described by Subsection (b-1)(2) may satisfy the training requirement under Subsection (b-1)(1) in a year in which an attorney completes the training.

(b-3) An attorney described by Subsection (b-1) shall complete the training required by Subsection (b-1)(2) as soon as practicable after the attorney is placed on the list described by Subsection (b-1).

(b-4) The training required by Subsection (b-1)(2) must be designed to educate an attorney regarding the attorney's duty under Subsection (d-3) and include information regarding:

(1) the symptoms of trauma and the impact that trauma has on a child, including how trauma may affect a child's development, emotions, memories, behavior, and decision-making;

(2) attachment and how a lack of attachment may affect a child;

(3) the role that trauma-informed care and services can have in a child's ability to build connections, feel safe, and regulate the child's emotions to help the child build resiliency and overcome the effects of trauma and adverse childhood experiences;

(4) the importance of screening children for trauma and the risk of mislabeling and inappropriate treatment of children without proper screening, including the risks and benefits associated with the use of psychotropic medication;

(5) the potential for re-traumatization of children in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services; and

(6) the availability of:

(A) research-supported, trauma-informed, non-pharmacological interventions; and

(B) trauma-informed advocacy to increase a child's access, while the child is in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services, to:

(i) trauma-informed care; and

(ii) trauma-informed mental and behavioral health services.

SECTION 2. An attorney who is on the list maintained by a court as being qualified for appointment as an attorney ad litem for a child in a child protection case on the effective date of this Act shall complete the training required by Section 107.004(b-1)(2), Family Code, as added by this Act, not later than September 1, 2022.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 904 passed the Senate on April 19, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1; and that the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 27, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 904 passed the House, with amendment, on May 23, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 90, Nays 53, one present not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

______________________________

Date

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Governor